Caa

Regarding "Inside the Agency," Michael Cieply's July 2 article about CAA, the Hollywood talent agency: The guys at Creative Artists do nothing all day but stroke people they like and "kill" people they don't like. They wield a ridiculous amount of power over the minds of an entire nation. Their power is derived not from ability or excellence or even intelligence. It comes simply from forming a coterie--it's all "who you know." You can see why this sort of thing has such a negative effect on the Hollywood "product."

Frank Darabont, creator of "The Walking Dead" television series, and Creative Artists Agency are suing AMC Networks Inc. over profit from the hit cable show. Darabont, who developed the series with CAA and delivered it to AMC in 2010 and was forced off the show prior to the second season, said the company has deprived them of "tens of millions of dollars" in profit through improper and abusive "self-dealing. " In a complaint filed with the New York Supreme Court on Tuesday, the plaintiffs said that the company pays an artificially low licensing rate to the AMC affiliate that produced the show, keeping it running at a deficit while AMC benefits from the highly rated series.

There's something going around at Creative Artists Agency, and the bug can be traced to the Wilshire Boulevard penthouse suite of a Beverly Hills dermatologist. Here, beyond the bric-a-brac of his more-is-more waiting room decor, Dr. Harold Lancer fills a steady stream of requests for a form of the bacteria that causes botulism. The beauty of Botox, as agents have discovered in the few years since it landed on planet Hollywood, is its calming effect on facial winces and grimaces.

After the coffee. Before the flight back to Los Angeles. The Skinny: It's been fun here in D.C. but it's time to head home. Hope my cats didn't leave me any welcome home gifts! Wednesday's roundup includes the latest on News Corp.'s plans to split the company in two and WME's punking rival agency CAA. Daily Dose: News Corp.'s Fox International Channels (FIC) has promoted Ward Platt to chief operating officer of the unit and chief executive of National Geographic Channels International.

Frank Darabont, creator of "The Walking Dead" television series, and Creative Artists Agency are suing AMC Networks Inc. over profit from the hit cable show. Darabont, who developed the series with CAA and delivered it to AMC in 2010 and was forced off the show prior to the second season, said the company has deprived them of "tens of millions of dollars" in profit through improper and abusive "self-dealing. " In a complaint filed with the New York Supreme Court on Tuesday, the plaintiffs said that the company pays an artificially low licensing rate to the AMC affiliate that produced the show, keeping it running at a deficit while AMC benefits from the highly rated series.

A partner at Creative Artists Agency publicly acknowledged Tuesday that the entertainment and sports powerhouse has been in discussions with private equity funds about an investment in the firm. In remarks made during the Financial Times' Business of Luxury Summit in Beverly Hills, one of CAA's managing partners, Bryan Lourd, confirmed published reports that the agency was meeting with outside firms, which he declined to identify. According to the New York Times, the agency is in discussions with private-equity and buyout giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and investment firm TPG Capital.

PARK CITY, Utah - Parties at the Sundance Film Festival typically feature maverick filmmakers, the best in nouvelle cowboy cuisine and plentiful pours of high-end spirits and Utah microbrews. But the bash thrown by Hollywood's powerful Creative Artists Agency on Sunday night took festival revelry in an unexpectedly bawdy direction, as Sundance guests mingled with lingerie-clad women pretending to snort prop cocaine, erotic dancers outfitted with sex toys and an Alice in Wonderland look-alike performing a simulated sex act on a man in a rabbit costume.

While nobody but Michael S. Ovitz himself knows for sure whether he will leave the powerful agency he has built over the last 20 years to run MCA, there are numerous people in Hollywood with competing interests who have a severe case of wishful thinking. If the man regarded as the most influential in Hollywood does leave his perch at Creative Artists Agency, industry insiders believe the balance of power would shift and even out the playing field.

Michael S. Rosenfeld, a talent agent and producer who was one of the founding partners of Creative Artists Agency, has died. He was 75. Rosenfeld died Thursday of respiratory failure at Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center after a long illness, the agency announced. "He enjoyed an exemplary career as a talent agent," the agency said in a statement. "He played an important role in the growth and success of CAA, and prided himself on starting the agency's literary department." In 1975, Rosenfeld and four other successful middle-management executives with the William Morris Agency left to form Creative Artists Agency, which would become a talent agency powerhouse.

A critique in today's Los Angeles Times Magazine about the architecture of the buildings in which talent agencies are headquartered includes details from a tour of Creative Artists Agency offices given to The Times' critic by managing partner Bryan Lourd. The critique says that CAA typically makes a point of keeping itself at arm's length from the press but that after weeks of back and forth CAA agreed to provide a tour by Lourd. While the tour itself was on the record, Lourd's comments from the tour should not have been included in the critique.

Talent agency Creative Artists Agency was the subject of a derisive advertising blitz by rival William Morris Endeavor on Tuesday. Dozens of ads installed at the Westfield Century City mall featured the word "CAAN'T" in Creative Artists Agency's signature red-and-white color scheme. "CAAN'T," of course, is a playful nod to the CAA acronym. Individuals with knowledge of the matter confirmed that WME was responsible for the advertisements, which were also plastered elsewhere in Los Angeles.

A Hollywood striver in the 1970s would have learned oodles from Sue Mengers - how to woo a client, sass a studio exec, host a dinner party, smoke a joint. And, had she pulled up a seat in Mengers' Beverly Hills living room one particularly gloomy day in the agent's career in 1981, she would have learned how it feels when the town's warm winds suddenly blow cold. That's the point when we meet Mengers in "I'll Eat You Last," a one-woman show opening Wednesday on Broadway. The eagerly anticipated production stars Bette Midler as Mengers, the onetime rep for stars such as Barbra Streisand, Candice Bergen, Michael Caine, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman, Ali MacGraw, Burt Reynolds and Nick Nolte.

It's been more than 30 years since reggae superstar Bob Marley died of cancer, but the Jamaican musician continues to enjoy broad cultural resonance. Marley's songs and merchandise sales rank him alongside other late musical greats including the king of pop, Michael Jackson, and the king of rock and roll, Elvis Presley, according to Forbes magazine. The sustained popularity of Marley -- who wore his hair long in the dreadlocks favored by the Rastafarians and espoused a life philosophy that the world could be united through "one love" -- has attracted new deals with Creative Artists Agency and giant music merchandising company Bravado.

PARK CITY, Utah - Parties at the Sundance Film Festival typically feature maverick filmmakers, the best in nouvelle cowboy cuisine and plentiful pours of high-end spirits and Utah microbrews. But the bash thrown by Hollywood's powerful Creative Artists Agency on Sunday night took festival revelry in an unexpectedly bawdy direction, as Sundance guests mingled with lingerie-clad women pretending to snort prop cocaine, erotic dancers outfitted with sex toys and an Alice in Wonderland look-alike performing a simulated sex act on a man in a rabbit costume.

After the coffee. Before seeing the ratings for 'The Following.' The Skinny: The game is still almost two weeks away and I'm already tired of Super Bowl hype. I'll never make it to February 3. Tuesday's headlines include a recap of the holiday box office, Blockbuster is closing more stores, and a wild party at Sundance. Daily Dose: Sunday's AFC and NFC championship games drew big audiences, but numbers were off from 2012. Fox's coverage of the Falcons-49ers game averaged 42 million viewers, a drop of more than 15 million compared with last year's Giants-Packers game.

USC quarterback Matt Barkley has signed with CAA Sports, which features agents Tom Condon, Ben Dogra and Jimmy Sexton, a person familiar with the situation said. Barkley, a four-year starter for the Trojans, is regarded as one of the top quarterbacks in the 2013 NFL Draft. Barkley suffered a sprained shoulder joint against UCLA on Nov. 17 and was sidelined for the Trojans' final regular-season game against Notre Dame and for the Sun Bowl against Georgia Tech. Barkley has not practiced since he was injured and he said last week that his status for the Jan. 26 Senior Bowl was to be determined.

David Fox, assistant editor of the Sunday Calendar section, writes (Book Review, Sept. 28) that I didn't quote any of the five Creative Artists Agency partners or any of their employees in my book "Reel Power." This is clearly incorrect. CAA partner Martin Baum is identified as such and quoted in my chapter on CAA and throughout the book. It's apparent that Fox did not read the book he reviewed. I expected more from The Times. MARK LITWAK Santa Monica

Concert giant AEG is teaming up with Ryan Seacrest, Mark Cuban and Hollywood powerhouse talent firm Creative Artists Agency to launch a pop culture and music cable channel that is expected to debut in June. Called AXS, the cable network primarily will carry live programming aimed at entertainment aficionados. It will include a heavy diet of music and concert coverage as well as lifestyle programming. Los Angeles-based AEG's downtown L.A. Live complex will serve as the network's on-air home.

Now for the arrival of the 13th Knick.... Or not. "Our own Big Three" reunited last week, eight months after Chris Paul joked about forming it with Amare Stoudemire in his toast at Carmelo Anthony's wedding ? in New York, of course. That was when Denver owner Stan Kroenke stomped out, went home and told his people to trade Melo. If Paul says it was in fun, Kroenke and the entire body of psychiatry say there's no such thing as a joke. Even with Paul stuck in New Orleans, it was as if Creative Artists, the Movie Star Agency, had brought him in for the 2011-12 Team Picture of Knick Dreams.